Analytical Solution for Horizontal Tension of Main Cable in Erection of Stiffening Girder

The horizontal tension of main cable is a key parameter to guarantee the safety of tower, form gravity stiffness and keep main cable shape correct during erection of stiffening girders. Instead of complicated Finite Element Modeling and iterative algorithms, simply analytical solutions of horizontal tension of main cable were deduced for two classical erection methods of stiffening girder based on the mathematical analogue and work-energy principle. Numerical method was also adopted to verify the analytical solutions on analysis of a single span suspension bridge. The results from analytical solution are found to be in good agreement with the numerical results. The theoretical results show that the presented analytical solutions can be easily applied in the calculation of the horizontal tension of main cable in any erection stage.